MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released the bestsellers list for May, 2015. The Cranbrook Schools took the top spot with their Women of the Worldanthology. Chris Papst’s Capital Murder held strong at #2. Along the Bethel Trail, by the Friends of Bethel, showed at #3. Keith Rommel’s newly released The Devil Tree led Fiction from the 4 spot.

SUNBURY PRESS – Bestsellers for May, 2015 (by Revenue)

Rank

Last Month

Title

Author

Category

1

NEW

Women Who Changed the World

Cranbrook Schools

YA Biography

2

1

Capital Murder

Chris Papst

Investigation

3

2

Along the Bethel Trail

Friends of Bethel AME

History

4

NEW

The Devil Tree

Keith Rommel

Thriller Fiction

5

16

The Complete Story of the Worldwide Invasion of the Orange Orbs

Terry Ray

Paranormal

6

7

The B Team

Alan Mindell

Sports Fiction

7

—

Rockabilly Rebel

Mack Allen Smith

Music History

8

—

At the End of the Day

Madelyn Killion

Literary Fiction

9

—

Visions of Teaoga

Jim Remsen

Historical Fiction

10

24

The Fossils of Blackberry Hill

Kenneth Gass

Paleontology

11

—

The Closer

Alan Mindell

Sports Fiction

12

6

Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last

Mike Campbell

History

13

21

H Is for Hershey

Heather Paterno

Childrens

14

22

Winter of the Metal People

Dennis Herrick

Historical Fiction

15

—

Keystone Tombstones Philadelphia Region

Farrell and Farley

Biography

16

NEW

Where Elephants Fought

Bridget Smith

Historical Fiction

17

13

Pit Bulls

Anthony Julian

History

18

—

Head Over Wheels

Ken Mercurio

Medical Memoir

19

—

The Oxygen Factory

Renee des Lauriers

YA Thriller

20

—

Ambush at Dry Bone Gulch

Sid Davis

Western

21

—

The View from Four Foot Two

Judi Markowitz

Medical Memoir

22

5

Call Sign Dracula

Joe Fair

War Memoir

23

—

Well I’ll Be Hanged

Tim Dempsey

History

24

23

That Night at Surigao

M Ernest Marshall

History

25

27

Forts, Forests, and Flintlocks

John L. Moore

History

26

—

Hour 30

Brandon Musgrave

Medical Memoir

27

30

Rivers, Raiders, and Renegades

John L. Moore

History

28

17

The Sign of the Eagle

Jess Steven Hughes

Historical Fiction

29

25

Bows, Bullets, and Bears

John L. Moore

History

30

29

Traders, Travelers, and Tomahawks

John L. Moore

History

What a month! The company had its best month ever, topping March’s record. Compared to last May, sales more than doubled. YTD Sales are up 82% from last year. Hardcover books have grown to a 43% share of sales. EBooks recovered a bit this month, tracking at 4.2% of sales. Trade paperbacks slipped to 45%.

Women Who Changed the World, by the Cranbrook Schools, grabbed the top spot thanks to a promotion at the end of the school year. Chris Papst’s Capital Murder held strong due to author activity and breaking news about the Harrisburg financial scandal. Along the Bethel Trail, by the Friends of the Bethel AME, was helped by its release party at the Simon Cameron Mansion in Harrisburg. Keith Rommel’s The Devil Tree debuted at #4 thanks to author appearances in Florida. Terry Ray’s popular The Complete Story of the Worldwide Invasion of the Orange Orbs vaulted to #5 thanks to MUFON activities. Alan Mindell’s sports novels The B Team (#6) and The Closer(#11) were bolstered by author appearances and interest in The Kentucky Derby. Mack Allen Smith’s Rockabilly Rebel returned to the charts at #7 thanks to author activities. Madelyn Killion’s At the End of the Day took #8 thanks to author activities. Jim Remsen’s Visions of Teaoga returned to the chart at #9 due to author appearances. Kenneth Gass’s The Fossils of Blackberry Hill was climbing the charts to #10 before it was withdrawn from publication. Mike Campbell’s Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last, held at #12, thanks to ongoing interest in the lost aviatrix. Heather Paterno’s H Is for Hershey rose to #13 due to sales in the Hershey region. Dennis Herrick moved up to #14 with his Winter of the Metal People. The book is popular in New Mexico. The Joes, Farrell and Farley, grabbed #15 due to regional interest in with their recently-released Keystone Tombstones Philadelphia Region. Bridget Smith’s new historical novel Where Elephants Fought charted at #16 thanks to sales in Mississippi. Anthony Julian’s ever-present Pit Bulls charted again at #17 because of ongoing interest in the subject matter. Ken Mercurio’s Head Over Wheelsreturned to the rankings at #18 thanks to author activities. YA Thriller, The Oxygen Factory, by Renee des Lauriers found #19 thanks to author events. Sid Davis’s western, Ambush at Dry Bone Gulch, took #20 due to author interest. The View from Four Foot Two, by Judi Markowitz, returned to the rankings at #21 thanks to author activity. Call Sign Dracula, the Vietnam memoir by Joe Fair, continued to chart at #22 thanks to steady sales in bookstores. Tim Dempsey’s Well I’ll Be Hanged charted at #23 thanks to author activities. Ernie Marshall’s That Night at Surigao maintained #24 thanks to interest in the last fight between battleships in WW2. John L. Moore grabbed the four spots #’s 25, 27, 29 & 30 with 4 of the 8 books in his Frontier Pennsylvania Series. Interest remains strong from local bookstores and retailers. Brandon Musgrave’s medical school memoir Hour 30 took #26 thanks to steady ebook sales. Jess Steven Hughes was at #28 with The Sign of the Eagle. Hughes continues to benefit from his regular bookstore events.

Sunbury Press has released the bestsellers list for April, 2015. Chris Papst’s expose on the financial collapse of Harrisburg, Capital Murder, took the top spot., followed by the Bethel AME church history Along the Bethel Trail.Flying Pants, by Lola James, claimed the third spot.

SUNBURY PRESS – Bestsellers for April, 2015 (by Revenue)

Rank

Last Month

Title

Author

Category

1

23

Capital Murder

Chris Papst

Investigation

2

NEW

Along the Bethel Trail

Friends of Bethel AME

History

3

—

Flying Pants

Lola James

Childrens

4

—

As the Paint Dries

Carrie Wissler-Thomas

History

5

16

Call Sign Dracula

Joe Fair

War Memoir

6

26

Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last

Mike Campbell

History

7

NEW

The B Team

Alan Mindell

Sports Fiction

8

—

Rising Hope

Marie Sontag

Historical Fiction

9

25

The Wolf of Britannia, Part I

Jess Steven Hughes

Historical Fiction

10

24

Jesus the Phoenician

Karim El Koussa

Religious History

11

—

There Is Something About Rough & Ready

Lawrence Knorr et al

History

12

5

Rising Sun Descending

Wade Fowler

Thriller Fiction

13

18

Pit Bulls

Anthony Julian

History

14

NEW

Keystone Tombstones Anthracite Region

Farrell and Farley

Biography

15

NEW

Keystone Tombstones Susquehanna Valley

Farrell and Farley

Biography

16

8

The Complete Story of the Worldwide Invasion of the Orange Orbs

Terry Ray

Paranormal

17

9

The Sign of the Eagle

Jess Steven Hughes

Historical Fiction

18

—

Indian Villages and Place Names in Pennsylvania

George Donehoo

History

19

—

Freemasons at Gettysburg

Sheldon Munn

History

20

—

The Wolf of Britannia, Part II

Jess Steven Hughes

Historical Fiction

21

1

H Is for Hershey

Heather Paterno

Childrens

22

12

Winter of the Metal People

Dennis Herrick

Historical Fiction

23

30

That Night at Surigao

M Ernest Marshall

History

24

3

The Fossils of Blackberry Hill

Kenneth Gass

Paleontology

25

—

Bows, Bullets, and Bears

John L. Moore

History

26

—

Pioneers, Prisoners, and Peace Pipes

John L. Moore

History

27

—

Forts, Forests, and Flintlocks

John L. Moore

History

28

—

Cannons, Cattle, and Campfires

John L. Moore

History

29

—

Traders, Travelers, and Tomahawks

John L. Moore

History

30

—

Rivers, Raiders, and Renegades

John L. Moore

History

April has been a historically weak month for Sunbury Press. The company had its 2nd best April ever. YTD Sales are up 77% from last year. Hardcover books have grown to a 36% share of sales. EBooks have now slipped to less than 3.9% of sales. Trade paperbacks remain steady at 54%.

Chris Papst’s Capital Murder grabbed the top spot thanks to advance sales and author activity. Along the Bethel Trail, by the Friends of the Bethel AME, was also helped by advance sales. Lola James’s childrens book Flying Pants soared to #3 due to author events. Carrie Wissler-Thomas’s As the Paint Dries was boosted to #4 by ongoing sales at the Art Association of Harrisburg. Call Sign Dracula, the Vietnam memoir by Joe Fair, continued to chart at #5 thanks to steady sales in bookstores. Mike Campbell’s Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last, soared to #6, up 20 spots, thanks to ongoing interest in the lost aviatrix. Alan Mindell’s new horse racing novel, The B Team, debuted at #7 thanks to support from his reader base. Rising Hope, Marie Sontag’s first volume in the Warsaw Rising Trilogy, charted at #8 due to author activities. Jess Steven Hughes nabbed 3 spots: #9 with The Wolf of Britannia Part I, #17 with The Sign of the Eagle, and #20 with The Wolf of Britannia Part II. Hughes benefitted from multiple books at his regular bookstore events. Karim El Koussa’s Jesus the Phoenician rose to #10 from combined sales of the paperback, ebook, and hardcover editions. There Is Something about Rough and Ready, by Lawrence Knorr, Steve Troutman, Elaine Moran, Cindy Baum, Christine Hipple, and Jeanne Adams returned to the rankings at #11 thanks to sales in the Rough & Ready area. Wade Fowler’s novel Rising Sun Descending slipped to #12 the month after his Sunbury Press Store event. Anthony Julian’s ever-present Pit Bullsmoved up a few spots to #13 because of ongoing interest in the subject matter. The Joes, Farrell and Farley, grabbed numbers 14 & 15 due to regional interest in with two of their newly-released books: Keystone Tombstones Anthracite Region and Keystone Tombstones Susquehanna Valley. Terry Ray’s popular The Complete Story of the Worldwide Invasion of the Orange Orbs stayed on the chart at #16 thanks to ongoing interest in the UFO phenomenom. George Donehoo’s classic Indian Villages and Place Names in Pennsylvania joined the rankings at #18 due to sales in the up state. Sheldon Munn’s Freemasons at Gettysburg climbed to #19 due to orders from Gettysburg retailers in advance of Memorial Day. Heather Paterno’s H Is for Hershey slipped to #21 following her event at the Hershey Historical Society. Dennis Herrick maintained #22, slipping 10 spots, with his Winter of the Metal People. The book is popular in New Mexico. Ernie Marshall’s That Night at Surigao climbed 7 spots to #23 thanks to interest in the last fight between battleships in WW2. Kenneth Gass’s The Fossils of Blackberry Hill preserved #24 thanks to author activities. John L. Moore grabbed the remaining spots #’s 25 to 30 with 6 of the 8 books in his Frontier Pennsylvania Series: Bows, Bullets, and Bears, Pioneers, Prisoners, and Peace Pipes, Forts, Forests, and Flintlocks, Cannons, Cattle, and Campfires, Traders, Travelers, and Tomahawks, and Rivers, Raiders, and Renegades.